Encourage 'like' button use by creating a trend page for 'liked' posts/threads

Go to page

Active member

While reading through another thread where members began to post 'me too' '+1' and I saw Kier's post, which stated "Or there's the Like button, whose purpose is partly to avoid +1 and 'me too' posts..."

That got me thinking. It would be cool to see a trending page for posts and threads that have been liked. It would not only have the added benefit of encouraging the purpose of the 'like' button (and cut down on useless posts), but will also give members insight into what other members like and possibly introduce them to new threads or topics they might not otherwise discover! Almost like a barometer of what conversation/topics the membership likes.

I understand some people may feel this will add 'bloat' to the base installation so if you feel that way, please share your comments, but if you still like the idea then please don't hesitate to like it!

EDIT (this was added a few days after I gave the concept further thought:

A page like the one I am about to describe could represent the pulse of the forum for new and returning visitors. It could help grow forums quicker than might otherwise be possible using other forum software because this page will encourage positive contributions to the site. Perhaps some will consider the following page worthy of an add-on rather than a tweak, or small upgrade. Still, it may enhance the forum software in ways that few of us can imagine at the present moment.

The page will display certain stats:

5 Top Liked Threads (for specific terms, like the last 24 hours, the last 7 days, the last month, the last year, overall).

* - This will help new and returning visitors learn about the threads that members like most.

Top 5 Most Valueable Members (for specific terms, like the last 24 hours, the last 7 days, the last month, the last year, overall).

* - This will help new and returning visitors learn about the members who are truly most valuable to the community.

A member's value to the community can be measured by the ratio of average 'likes'/thread started or avg 'likes'/post, or both. (It might be interesting to display on a member's profile since these measurements of a member's value to the community, which allows other people to evaluate other members).

To address the issue of 'like' abuse by certain members who will conspire to 'like' threads created by the other person, you could limit the number of likes one can give out based on membership history, one's value to the community, or simply by the number of likes one can give out per day. I am sure others can think of other ways to do this as well, but that can be worked out.

Active member

Don't forget to like the original post in this thread if you like this idea!

A page like the one I am about to describe could represent the pulse of the forum for new and returning visitors. It could help grow forums quicker than might otherwise be possible using other forum software because this page will encourage positive contributions to the site. Perhaps some will consider the following page worthy of an add-on rather than a tweak, or small upgrade. Still, it may enhance the forum software in ways that few of us can imagine at the present moment.

The page will display certain stats:

5 Top Liked Threads (for specific terms, like the last 24 hours, the last 7 days, the last month, the last year, overall).

* - This will help new and returning visitors learn about the threads that members like most.

Top 5 Most Valueable Members (for specific terms, like the last 24 hours, the last 7 days, the last month, the last year, overall).

* - This will help new and returning visitors learn about the members who are truly most valuable to the community.

A member's value to the community can be measured by the ratio of average 'likes'/thread started or avg 'likes'/post, or both. (It might be interesting to display on a member's profile since these measurements of a member's value to the community, which allows other people to evaluate other members).

To address the issue of 'like' abuse by certain members who will conspire to 'like' threads created by the other person, you could limit the number of likes one can give out based on membership history, one's value to the community, or simply by the number of likes one can give out per day. I am sure others can think of other ways to do this as well, but that can be worked out.

I will also add this to my original post. If you like the idea, please make sure to 'like' the first post in this thread as well because that is what the XenForo developers evaluate when determining what things they want to incorporate with the commercial version of the software.

Well-known member

It would be nice if the software was kept *really* simple to use for the casual users that don't intend on seeking every feature. I am not sure what that means in regards to this idea, depends entirely on the implementation.

I am all for gathering useful social data and present it to the end user in a compact overview. XenForo should make as much valuable use of the social aspect of it's platform as possible. The benefits are obvious as you have so clearly (great!) explained in your opening post.

More ideas in (more or less) the same line are popping up. See this awesome suggestion from Princeton for example:

Active member

Yes indeed. At the end of the day, these are tools that enable the membership to collectively rank the content contributors and their contributions. It is likely that this will encourage members to create better threads and write more useful responses because members want their posts to be liked, they want to enhance their status, and they want receive unique recognition.

Well-known member

This sounds like a great addition, the only problem will be that you'll also encourage people that just want to be on the top of the list. So they will tell their 'friends' on the forum to give each other likes.

Active member

This sounds like a great addition, the only problem will be that you'll also encourage people that just want to be on the top of the list. So they will tell their 'friends' on the forum to give each other likes.

Well-known member

Like != Reputation - IMO anyway. If we start restricting the usage of the Like feature, we start to piss off our users.

If a user has created 4 or 5 posts that are all worthy of a Like, I'm more likely to abuse the Like feature by clicking Like on random posts in order to actually give this 1 valid Like to a user who has earned it.

My suggestion would be that we don't restrict it. If you have users who abuse it, maybe you're looking for a feature that can omit a user/usergroup from appearing on the Like statistics.